Sheltering from typhoon Haiyan, Nickson Gensis captured the frightening power of the storm surge as it threatens to wash away the boarding house he's taken shelter in. Courtesy: Plan International

TERRIFYING footage of houses being swept away shows the destructive size and force of the monster typhoon that has devastated the Philippines.

Nickson Gensis, a staff member of the child development agency Plan International, recorded the surge from the second floor of a boarding house where he and others gathered for shelter from Typhoon Haiyan.

Survivors wait for their evacuation flight at the airport in Tacloban.

He described the terrifying storm as "a huge tsunami".

The footage shows the moment the storm surge slammed into the Samar coastal town of Hernani, engulfing and sweeping away houses.

"Six of us took refuge on the top floor of a boarding house," Gensis said.

"Five were praying and I was filming. The others called me to pray with them but I said that I needed to document this."

The aid worker said he and his colleagues left the house after the storm passed.

"We ventured downstairs and outside around noon," Gensis said.

"I took shots of the boarding house we had been in because I was so thankful it protected me."

Grieving typhoon survivors flocked to shattered churches on Sunday, listening to soothing sermons and asking questions of God nine days after the storm ripped their communities apart

Philippine President Benigno Aquino (centre) visits the navy port in Tacloban where relief supplies are arriving by boat.Source: AFP

The Sunday services offered a brief respite from the grinding battle to survive in the wastelands created by some of the strongest winds ever recorded and tsunami-like waves that destroyed dozens of coastal towns and killed thousands of people.

Aid has been slow in arriving, but an enormous international relief operation picked up momentum over the weekend, bringing food, water and medical supplies and airlifting basic necessities to isolated communities.

President Benigno Aquino, who has been criticised over the speed of his government's response, called for understanding of the logistical challenges as he toured some of the worst-hit areas on Sunday.

The dramatic footage shows buidlings being swept away in the storm surge.Source: Supplied

The Philippine government said on Sunday that 3681 had so far been confirmed dead in the disaster, with another 1186 people missing.

The United Nations and other relief workers say the death toll will climb much higher over the coming months as a full assessment is made of the 600-kilometre stretch of islands hit by Haiyan.

If the worst fears are realised, Haiyan could be the country's deadliest natural disaster, surpassing the 1976 Moro Gulf tsunami that killed between 5000 and 8000 people on the southern island of Mindanao.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday that the super typhoon was an ``urgent warning'' to mankind of the consequences of climate change.

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